Mind,body and soul
by Innosense
Summary: Two wrongs don't make a right.but neither does 3.Ash and May are about to learn that lesson the hard way.
1. Prologue:Rattatas and a sinking ship

"Aww. C'mon May. I wanna keep travelling around Johto with you." Moaned a small, bespectacled boy. "Plus you're going to Sinnoh in a about a month to compete in the Wallace cup. Please let me come with you."

May just laughed and tussled the boys hair. "Now Max. Dad asked me to bring you home so you can help him with the gym, so that's what I'm gonna do. And I'm going to Sinnoh to talk to Ash about something. The Wallace cup is of secondary importance but right now I'm gonna take you home."

"All right." Max grumbled.

"Max I'll give you my Squirtle before I leave for Sinnoh." May told her brother. "But only if you be good. If you kick up another fuss about going home then I might rescind the offer."

"All right!" Max said as he perked up.

The Sister and Brother duo boarded the ship back to Hoenn.

"It's about a 4 day trip back to Hoenn and we both have separate rooms okay Max?" May told her brother. "But my cabin is just across the hall from yours so if you need help with anything feel free to come and get me."

"Okay. Yeah." Max said. "By the way. I get the feeling there's something different about you lately May."

"Like what?" May asked.

"I don't know. You just seem more… energized and playful. Like your Skitty." Max thought.

"Maybe hanging around Ash, his attitude rubbed off on me. Or maybe Skitty's energy rubbed off on me." May suggested.

"I guess. It's not a problem just an observation." Max reassured his sister.

"If it ever becomes a problem let me know." May told him.

"I will." Max replied.

2 days into the trip an explosion rocks the boat and it begins to sink. May and Max are trapped in their cabins by members of Team Aqua looking for revenge.

"You two were members of the group that stopped us from achieving our goal of world domination." One grunt said as he called out a Mightyena.

"So now we get to exact a little revenge." The other finished as he called out a Manectric.

May called out her Venusaur and ordered it to use Razor Leaf.

"Venusaur" Venusaur bellowed before launching a barrage of leaves that were harder than steel and sharp as razors, cutting down the Mightyena and Manectric.

"Max! run to the side of the boat and jump into the water. I'll be right behind you!" May yelled.

"You better. I don't want to explain to mum and dad how you drowned fighting off a terrorist organization." Max called back as he ran off.

May recalled her Venusaur and shoulder barged through the Team Aqua grunts. Before she reached the closest end of the ship. She climbed onto the railing and looked for Max.

"MAX! MAX WHERE ARE YOU?" she yelled.

"May" Came a faint reply. "My foots tangled on the rope to one of the life boats."

"Hold on I'll cut you free!" May called to her brother as she pulled a knife out of her bag and jumped for the rope.

She grabbed the rope and waited for it to stop swinging before she cut it. Her brother screamed as they dropped towards the ocean.

May fumbled with her Pokéballs as she searched for Squirtle.

"This would be easier if I clipped them to my hip like Ash does." May told herself.

They hit the water hard. May broke the surface to breathe and went under to look for Max when he didn't.

She found him struggling to swim up as the rope weighed him down. She swam as hard as she could but found her limit when she was halfway to Max. She began to lose consciousness as Max slowly stopped moving. He went limp and sank as her world turned to black.

She woke up several days later in Slateport hospital.

"What happened?" Was the first thing she asked the orderly.

"You were found unconscious on a small island just off the coast of the beach." The nurse told her. "You're lucky to be alive. You're also the only known survivor of the ship that sank two weeks ago."

"The… only… survivor." May repeated as tears filled her eyes. "So those weren't nightmares. Max really did drown." May sobbed.

The nurse tried to calm her down but she pushed her off.

"Leave me alone! I want to mourn my brother." May told the nurse.

After three weeks of therapy to get over the death of her brother, May called out Beautifly and flew home to Petalburg.

"Well Beautifly. Here we are. Home." May said with dread in her voice. "Return." May said as she returned Beautifly to its pokeball.

May opened the door and came face to face with her mother.

"Mom…"


	2. Chapter 1:aftermath, before trouble

"Mom what are you doing?"The brown haired girl Asked, her blue eyes wide with fear.

Her mother stared back at her with red, bloodshot eyes that had tears streaming from inner-most corners of her teal eyes. Her normally well kept, brown hair was unkempt. "It should have been you! Why wasn't it you?" she screamed. The enraged woman's husband held her back. His left eye had a faint purple ring around it from being punched; his black hair was stained red at the back from the cut just beneath the middle of his head.

"Caroline, dear, I don't think its right to be blaming our daughter for our son's death. I'm sure May did everything she could to save Max." Caroline kicked he husband in his left shin with her heel causing him to topple to one knee giving the woman the leverage she needed to break her left hand free.

"Don't feed me that Norman! If she had tried hard enough to save him I'm sure she would be dead and he would have survived, then I would have been happy!" The anger crazed woman reached out as far as she could and managed to grab her daughter by the throat. "Killing you won't bring him back but it'll give us a chance to start anew!" The woman slowly began to choke her daughter. Suddenly a metallic snap was heard and she felt cold steel pressed against the back of her head. Norman's finger rested on the trigger of a .9mm handgun.

"Let. Her. Go Caroline. May is not at fault here." Caroline began to sob. "I don't care! I had high hopes for May to become the successor to your gym. But she had to ruin them and become a coordinator! Max was bound to become a great researcher. Then he drowned because of her negligence! She has ruined my life and I'll be damned if I'm letting her get away with it!" Norman moved his hand to the left and shot his wife's arm, causing her to drop their daughter. As May slumped to the floor and lost consciousness. She heard another shot and watched as her mother collapsed to the floor with a hole in her stomach, then the whole world faded to black.

She felt helpless. She watched as her younger brother flailed in the water. Trying desperately to break the surface and get a breath of air when he slowly began to stop moving. He hung there for a few seconds and then just sank. A huge wave crashed over her and a pink light enveloped her.

She woke up in the hospital about 8 hours later. Her father perched on the window sill looking despondent. "She's gone." He told her. "She's not dead but she's gone. As soon as she woke up she requested a transfer to a hospital in Johto. Said she wants nothing more to do with us."

May looked at her father. She watched as he pulled the pistol he had shot her mother with last night out of his belt. "Dad?" May asked with worry in her voice. She had watched enough dramas to know what was about to happen. "Sorry May. But maybe we'll both be happier this way." He pointed the gun directly at her chest and fired.

As the bullet raced towards her time seemed to slow down. A voice ran inside her head. 'I owe you much human. You have made an excellent host while I grew stronger. Now I shall repay the favor. It is not your time to die yet. Not while he still lives. We shall change roles. I will be freed when your body dies. But once I am free we shall exchange places and you shall control my body.' All at once May began to feel more and more detached from her body. The last thing she felt was the bullet punching through her chest then…nothing.

She woke up a few minutes later. Passed out in the middle of Petalburg woods. She had her body. Her clothes and Pokéballs. "Did that really happen or was it all a dream?" The edges of her vision blurred and tinted a soft pink.

The voice from earlier started talking to her again. 'It happened human. I have delivered you from death just like I said I would. I took the liberty of transforming into an exact replica of your old body to help you feel more at home. Oh my. Where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself. My name is Mew. I have been living inside your body for 10 years. Since you were 1 year old. We legendary Pokémon are curious in that we need a human host to release our full potential. When we are born a human host is selected for us to inhabit as we grow. When we reach a certain age our powers begin to activate when our host needs them. My airtight bubble saved you from drowning. As the controller of my body you have full access to every one of my powers, including transformation. It's the only way you'll be making it into towns and cities unnoticed. Go ahead, try it." May thought of how she'd always wanted to look. Long black hair with piercing red eyes. Average height and weight with moderately sized breasts. The voice of Mew could hardly contain its excitement. 'Brilliant! Fast learner aren't you? You can do the same thing with your clothes. Go ahead try it." May then thought of an outfit that would go well with her new look. A casual white T-shirt with long black pants and black high heels.

Mew was bursting with excitement. 'Now the other powers can be a bit tricky. Teleportation takes ages to master but can be a reliable form of transport once you do. For now just tell me where you want to go and I'll teleport us there. For now though. You've got someone to catch.' Next thing she knew, May was surrounded by white lights and wound up in a forest. Hearing rustling and people talking she ducked into some bushes and peeked out. 2 familiar voices fill her ears. "Over here you guys! I saw a big white flash."

May's eyes widened. "That's Ash." She turns in the direction of the sound and watches as Ash runs into view. "Ash wait up." May calmed a bit. "And that's Brock." A blue haired girl runs into view behind him. "What do you see Ash?"

May stiffened up "Who the hell is she?" May asks no one in particular. After calming down a bit she begana to devise a plan. "I need a form that will draw everyone's attention. But can disappear quickly. A ghost pokemon? No, to predictable. A bug pokemon? To noisy. Come on think May think. I know." May quickly transformed into Mew. She was just about to fly out when an alarm on the blue haired girls watch went off. "Hey guys there's a breaking news update." Ash and Brock turned around and walked towards the girl. Pikachu popped out of Ash's backpack and looked over Ash's shoulder. May flew over to watch. "Let me turn the volume up." The blue haired girl said as she fiddled with the volume wheel on the side of her watch.

Slowly the reporter's voice began to emerge from the speaker. "…has left 2 dead in the Petalburg hospital. Apparently the commotion started late last night as residents heard shouting followed by 2 gunshots erupt from the home of Petalburg gym leader, Norman. When paramedics arrived they found young contest star May unconscious from choking as well as her mother, Caroline, unconscious and bleeding from 2 gunshot wounds, one in her left arm the other through the stomach. When interviewed Norman had this to say. "I did what I had to do to save my daughter. No further comments." His wife apparently requested to be transferred to a hospital in Johto. Shortly after 2 more gunshots were heard in the hospital followed by a mysterious pink glow. When doctors reached the room where young May was recuperating they found her and her father dead but no sign of what caused the pink glow. It is believed that Norman was so upset he took the life of himself and his daughter. More details as they emerge. For now this is…" The girl turned the TV function on her watch off before the reporter could finish.

Brock was leaning on a tree nearby, obviously distraught. "Wow. Hard to believe. What do we do Ash? Do we continue here and try to forget about her or do we head back to Hoenn to attend her funeral?"

Ash hung his head low and walked over to another tree. He balled his left hand into a fist and slammed against the tree. "I don't care what you do Brock. I'm going back there to mourn her. I never forget my friends!" Ash's outburst frightened everyone, and stunned May who continued to float in the middle of everyone. Without even realizing it May let a brief sentence flow from her mind, the trees all around caught the thoughts and echoed them back and forth between each other until they were audible. "Thank you Ash." Echoed all through the forest. Realizing what she had done May quickly formed a mist to escape. She turned back into herself and stood in the middle of everyone before she ran off into the forest.

Stunned by the sentence Ash looked around and saw May appear out of the mist that had sprung up suddenly. As she ran off he began to follow her. "May wait! I don't care if you're just an apparition I have something important to tell you!" He called after her.

May ran as fast as she could, leaving mist in her wake to try and throw him off. "Damn it Ash just give up! Don't make it harder than this already is." She called back to him. Eventually she reached a lakeshore. "This looks like a good place to lose him." She jumped up into the air and began to transform. Her clothes disappeared and her body shrunk. Her hair turned pink and grew to cover her entire body. Her skeleton elongated as a tail grew from her tailbone. Her ears shrank into her head and reappeared on top all pointed and catlike. Her eyes changed to a brilliant shade of blue as they grew larger. Where there once was a girl a Pokémon now stood. May wasted no time and took off across the lake.

Eventually Ash lost sight of her near the lake shore. "Argh! Damn it! Where did she go? Where the hell am I?" He dropped to the ground in frustration. "What is going on?" he yelled.

"Easy there boy. There's no need to yell." An old lady emerged from the mist. "Got lost chasing a ghost did' ya? Don't worry. You're not the first to be fooled by the mist of Lake Valor."

Ash looked at the woman confused. "The mist of Lake Valor? What's so special about the mist?" He asked.

The old lady smiled "I will tell you but it might be wise to get to cover before the night falls. That's when the mist gets vicious." The old lady took Ash's hand and led him around the lake shore. "By the way. My name is Dusk. But most people call me Lady Dusk."


	3. Chapter 2:Smokescreen and Mirrormove

Lady Dusk lead Ash around the lake to a small hut. "This hut is the only available cover this deep into the forest. Unless you'd rather take your chances with the nightmares."

"I still don't see what makes this mist so dangerous." Ash growled. "It looks the same as any other mist."

The old lady grinned. "You have not heard the stories of Valor Mist eh? Well come on in and I will enlighten you." The old lady explained as she ushered Ash in.

"Ash! Where are you?" Brock called out to his friend. "Where do you think he went Dawn?" The former gym leader asked the blue haired girl.

"I don't know. I saw him run off after someone when the mist started to form." Dawn responded, her eyes locked on her poketch. "Almost got a lock on Pikachu's energy signal. Come on! Come on! Lock onto the damn weather anomaly already!"

"Of course! The Mist's water vapor would mean that Pikachu's electric energy would leave a trail for us to follow." Brock exclaimed. "Good thinking Dawn!" Just as he finished talking a bush behind him rustled. Then the bush behind Dawn rustled. "We're not alone." Brock said warily. "How much longer do you need?" he asked as a wind began to howl through the forest making the branches on the trees around them shake and bang against each other.

"Just a little longer. Come on!" Dawn answered. A small beep from her poketch signaled that it had completed its task. "Yes got it!"

"Good. Let's find him and get out of here. It's starting to get creepy." Brock said with a shaky voice. Red eyes appeared from the darkness between each group of trees and narrowed as they spotted the human pair. "Oh Shit! Shiiit!"

"No! What's going on? My poketch is acting all screwey now. No! Don't shut off. Don't!" Dawn cried out as her poketch's screen spazzed out before the device itself shut off. "Damn it! Now we're stuck out here in the middle…of…no..where." Dawn's voice lowered as she looked up at the eyes. Brock's cry drew her attention. She turned to ask him what was wrong and watched as he was dragged into the forest by a pack of Houndoom. "Brock! No!" she rushed to grab him but was stopped by the disembodied hands of a group of Haunter. She wanted to scream,but one of the haunter flew inside her head and forced her mouth shut before it completely possessed her and forced her into the forest.

"This mist is said to house the spirits of those who have unfinished business on this world. More than that though. While many have not seen any spirits, many have fallen afoul of the mist. Dragged off to an unpleasant demise by vengeful Pokémon ghosts or possessed by ghost Pokémon and forced to do their dirty work. Yes this mist is dangerous indeed. You need a psychic master just to get through the easiest half of the forest." Lady Dusk explained. Her eyes narrowed on Ash as she waited for the teenager to respond. She could see the fear in his eyes. "A psychic prodigy is needed to ward off the mist through the harder section. But nary a prodigy exists."

As old as Ash was, he still felt a lump form in his throat as the old lady described the mists powerful effects to him. After a few seconds though, something dawned on him. "This hut is a quarter of the way into the forest right? So that must mean you are a psychic yourself. Else you wouldn't have been able to build it out here." Ash questioned the old lady.

Lady Dusk Smiled. "You have figured out what many wouldn't have. Most others would assume I hired a psychic to protect me while I built this hut. I can take you halfway into the forest and that is all. I am only a master and many master psychics have lost their lives trying to become prodigies by training here. I myself am training here but it will take me another 5 years to attain prodigy status. So when you are ready, we shall set off." Lady Dusk said as she packed a small bag with psychic aids.

On a small island in the middle of the lake May sat, in her own form, slumped to the ground, her hands to her eyes she silently sobbed to herself. "If only… If only I'd have saved Max. Then none of this would have happened. I'm so useless!" She cried, slamming her fists to the ground. "If only I'd have sent Squirtle after him he'd still be alive and I wouldn't be dead! I'm not worth anything to anyone."

Mew had listened silently from inside and was growing more and more annoyed with its former human host. 'Stop telling Yourself that your useless before you actually become useless. And even if the whole world doesn't care there will always be someone who does. Who chased you out to the edge of the lake? Who said they would never forget you? Your worth something to someone. Never forget that.'

"Lets go!" Ash said enthusiastically. "First thing though. I kind of left my friends behind when I took off running. Can we go back and check on them?"

"Of course. You came running from the south direction correct. A clearing right?" Lady Dusk asked.

"Uh yeah I think so." Ash questioned himself. "Why? Is that clearing dangerous?"

"I'm afraid it is. Wild packs of Houndoom ghosts and Haunters inhabit the area. Chances are they've either been dragged off into the darkness or possessed by the Haunter. We can go check if you like." Dusk told the trainer.

"Can we? Please. I never leave a friend behind if I can help it." Ash said.

"Very well then. It will be a long night so make sure you have everything you need. If you need potions or ethers or anything of the sort they are in my cupboard." Lady Dusk told him.

"Thanks but I'm fairly certain I'm ready." Ash said as he opened the door and stepped out.

"It's your funeral if you're not." Lady Dusk said as she followed him out.

'Hold on Ash. I'm coming.' May thought as she flew across the lake in Mews form.


	4. Chapter 3:This is the way his world ends

May reached the edge of the lake and launched herself up into the air. In mid air she willed her body to change from Mews small, feline form into the comparatively tall and familiar form of her old self.

May landed hard, leaning on her left fist to distribute her weight across a wider area. She sprang to her feet and stated running through the forest, using small teleports to dodge trees in her way.

As the forest blurred past her, the pink tinge she had come to recognize as Mews conscience once again tugged at the edge of her vision. 'A good way to practice teleportation, if not a little dangerous. Other than that you must have noticed your heightened reflexes and senses. You're faster, stronger and more alert to your surroundings. You still need to practice using psychic attacks. A little discretion wouldn't hurt either. If you ran when he discovered you earlier then you're going to need a different form.' Mew's echoing voice recommended as the pink tinge faded.

May knew mew was right so she shifted from her form to the form she had thought up earlier. As a straight clearing opened up she forced herself to levitate and increased her speed.

Ash followed Lady Dusk back to the clearing. The Houndooms red eyes glowed behind them as they stepped out of the bushes. Haunter watched them from above.

"Damn it! Looks like we're too late." Ash said. "First May and now Brock and Dawn. My friends are beginning to drop like a Butterfree swarm caught in an Ariados's web."

Lady Dusk looked around. "Do not be so quick to judge young trainer. Most likely they are still alive."

"Yeah Ash! Where's your faith in your friends?" Brock said as he emerged with a pack of Houndoom.

"And here I thought you cared for us?" Dawn said as she dropped down from the trees with a group of Haunter. "Or was it the other girl you cared for?"

"Guys. You're alive! But, why aren't the Houndoom and Haunter attacking you?" Ash asked.

"You always were a fool Ash." Brock said as his torso grew black fur. "They did attack us. But we were lucky. They needed us. Unlike you." Brock ripped his shirt and vest off revealing his entire torso which now had white markings across his back. "I'm now half Houndoom."

Dawn's arms went limp as 2 haunter hands floated out of her body. Her eyes began to glow red. "And I'm now a vessel for the lead haunter." Dawn said her voice now a sort of mix of her own and haunters.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes or ears. His friends really had fallen victim to the ghosts and ghost Pokémon. He turned to lady Dusk only to be greeted by a Gengar. "What's…what's happening?" Ash asked in fear.

The Gengar spoke in Lady Dusk's voice. "Why, you've fallen into a trap dear boy. Your body will make an excellent host." The Gengar said as it rushed towards him.

Ash heard rustling bushes somewhere behind him. As he turned to see what was making the noise, a girl burst out and punched the Gengar square in the face. Ash watched in awe as she just hovered about a foot off the ground, a pink aura radiating out from her. "Whoa. A real psychic. And she's not that bad looking either."

May willed her voice to change. 'A deeper tone with more smoothness and that should do it.' A quick throat clearing to set the change. "Fear not young trainer." May said. "I will take you away from here." She grabbed Ash's arm and took off at full speed away from the clearing. "I live in a small cave at the center of the lake, my name is Zerelda. And you would be Ask Ketchum from Pallet Town in the Kanto region."

"Whoa!" Ash gaped "How'd you know all that?"

May giggled. "Easy. I'm a psychic after all." She replied as they reached a small island in the middle of the lake.

"Damn it! Where'd that girl come from?" The Gengar asked, enraged.

"We do not know master. But we detected a strong psychic energy signal emanating from her body." Dawn/Haunter replied as Haunters hands re-entered Dawns body.

"We could trace it if you like master." Brock/Houndoom offered as his torso returned to normal.

"Don't bother." The Gengar said, waving them off. "I have another plan in mind." It began laughing evilly as it cast another illusion over it's body. "This time, the ghost of the one he cares for the most will lead him into the trap." Gengar said in May's voice.


	5. Chapter 4:Bodyless love

Nestled away in the cave Ash and May stood at opposite ends. Ash paced back and forth at the mouth of the cave while May leant on the back wall.

"Argh! This is infuriating! How am I going to save my friends? I could just tackle them or have Pikachu shock them but that might hurt them. Then there's Mays ghost that's out there. I really need to tell her something."

Pikachu climbed out of his friend's bag and patted the side of his head. "Pi-ka-chu." He chirped as he tried to calm down the practically flaming trainer.

May stood at the back wall listening to everything the trainer had to rant about. Slowly, she shook her head sadly and was just about to open her mouth to confess everything when a familiar voice floated into the cave. 'Wait a minute.' May thought. 'That's my voice!'

Unfortunately Ash heard it as well and was already out of the cave, standing at the water's edge.

"She just keeps repeating my name. I need to find her!" Ash said loudly. "Damn. Zerelda probably needs time to rest to get her energy back. And I don't have any sizeable water Pokémon to ride. Staravia is too small to carry me as well. I hope those brief surfing lessons in Kanto paid off cause I'm gonna have to ride Buizel like a surfboard." Ash said as he ran his finger over his Pokéballs. Grabbing Buizel's he threw it up into the air. "Buizel, I choose you! Go!"

The mirrored inner surface of the Pokéball opened and released a white beam of energy which materialized an orange weasel with a split tail and what looked like a floatation device around its neck. "Buizel Buiz"

"Alright. Buizel you're gonna have to work pretty hard for what I need you to do. I need you to carry me and Pikachu across the water." Ash said with a confident look in his eye. "I believe in you Buizel."

Buizel looked across the water to where his trainer wanted to go, before reluctantly walking into the water and lying down.

May quickly shifted back into Mew and flew out of the cave. 'Alright. If ghost Pokémon can do it, why can't I?' she thought as she began to dive bomb towards Pikachu. In mid dive she shifted into a Gastly and entered Pikachu's body, instantly taking control.

A purple flame appeared around Pikachu's body for a second before it burned out.

Without even noticing Ash turned to his friend. "Might want to climb back into my bag. That way you won't fall off." He said, with a hint of concern in his voice.

May couldn't even think how a Pokémon would reply to that so she just climbed into his bag and zipped it up.

"Buizel buiz!" The Sea weasel Pokémon was getting impatient.

"Alright alright." Ash said as he stepped onto his Pokémon's back. He took up a surfing position in order to spread his weight out equally. "Let's go Buizel." The trainer yelled out pointing towards the shore.

"Bui bui." Buizel said as he strained to get moving. Once he got underway however the effort became minimal.

Within minutes they reached the shore and Ash recalled his tired water Pokémon. "Sorry to have to do that Buizel. You can come out now Pikachu."

May unzipped the bag and climbed onto Ash's shoulder.

"You feeling okay buddy? You're awfully quiet." Ash said as he looked at the mouse Pokémon. 'Huh? That's strange. I always thought Pikachu's eyes were brown, not blue.' Ash thought to himself. "Probably just the lighting." He thought aloud.

"_Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash… Ash"_

The ghostly call began again. Except it was louder than it was before.

"The clearing again. It might be another trap. Keep your guard up Pikachu." Ash said as he walked towards the noise.

May tried to say be careful but could only manage a worried "piii kaaa."

As Ash walked into the clearing a ghostly figure of May appeared. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and extended his hand, as if reaching out to help her.

The real May jumped off Ash's shoulder and bungled the landing, landing on her head and not her feet.

"Either this place is really throwing you off or your just not having a good day today Pikachu." Ash said as he watched the mouse Pokémon stagger to its feet.

May cursed herself for being so stupid and let out an angry sounding "Pika." A rustling off to her right scared her. 'If I was human I wouldn't have even heard that, these ears are super sensitive." As it continued she ran off to check on the noise.

"Hey Pikachu where you going?" Ash called after his Pokémon. As Pikachu disappeared into the bushes Ash sighed and walked out into the clearing. "He'll catch up." He turned his attention to May. As he got closer he felt a chill run down his spine. When he got right next to her "May" looked up at him with pure red eyes.

"That's twice dear boy and this time you won't escape." The fake may said as the illusion vanished revealing the Gengar.

Dawn dropped out of the trees again and released the Haunter arms to grab Ash's wrists.

Brock leapt out of the bushes and ordered the Houndoom to create a perimeter around the trainer.

"No escape. This time your body will be mine." The Gengar cackled.

May shot under the Houndoom and jumped with two blades of lightning gripped in her paws, slicing the Haunters hands before discarding the blades and bringing her tail around to iron tail the Gengar into the Houndoom wall.

Ash looked in awe at what his Pikachu just accomplished. "That was incredible buddy!"

"Pikachu" turned and looked at him before collapsing to the ground and hunching over. Pink lightning arced over its body before discharging straight up and taking on Mays form.

May levitated above the ground before once more shifting into Mew. She flew right into Dawn and managed to enter the other girl's body forcing the haunter out before launching a quick psychic blast from Dawns hand. The blast struck Brock and the Houndoom that was controlling him was pushed out. She turned into energy and forced herself out of Dawns mouth.

The Haunter and Houndoom pack disappeared into the forest as the Gengar picked itself up.

May reformed herself from the energy, straightened her right hand and swung it across her body, launching a PSI wave that cut the Gengar in half.

Ash stared at the girl bewildered by what just transpired. He walked towards May, grabbed her right hand and pulled her out of the air before embracing the girl. He whispered in her ear "I love you May." And kissed her.

May was so overcome with joy that she began to cry. After the pair finished kissing she looked him in the eye and said "I love you too Ash."

Dawn, Brock and Pikachu regained consciousness and watched as the new couple kissed once more.

Daylight broke and a flock of Starly took off from the trees as the first rays of sun for the day penetrated the clearing and illuminated the kissing couple, almost as if Arceus himself were approving their love.


End file.
